Poynting vector

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Dipole radiation of a dipole vertically in the page showing electric field strength (colour) and Poynting
vector (arrows) in the plane of the page.

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In physics, the Poynting vector represents the directional energy flux (the energy transfer per unit
area per unit time) of an electromagnetic field. The SI unit of the Poynting vector is the watt per
square metre (W/m2). It is named after its discoverer John Henry Poynting who first derived it in
1884.[1]:132 Oliver Heaviside also discovered it independently in the more general form that
recognises the freedom of adding the curl of an arbitrary vector field to the definition.[2]

Contents

1 Definition

2 Interpretation

3 Formulation in terms of microscopic fields

4 Time-averaged Poynting vector

5.1 Coaxial cable

5.2 Resistive dissipation

5.3 Plane waves

5.4 Radiation pressure

5.5 Static fields

6 Adding the curl of a vector field

7 References

8 Further reading

Definition

In Poynting's original paper and in many textbooks, the Poynting vector is defined as[3][4][5]

{\displaystyle \mathbf {S} =\mathbf {E} \times \mathbf {H} ,}\mathbf {S} =\mathbf {E} \times \mathbf
{H} ,

where bold letters represent vectors and

E is the electric field vector;

H is the magnetic field's auxiliary field vector.

This expression is often called the Abraham form.[6] The Poynting vector is usually denoted by S or N.

In the "microscopic" version of Maxwell's equations, this definition must be replaced by a definition
in terms of the electric field E and the magnetic field B (described later in the article).

It is also possible to combine the electric displacement field D with the magnetic field B to get the
Minkowski form of the Poynting vector, or use D and H to construct yet another version. The choice
has been controversial: Pfeifer et al.[7] summarize and to a certain extent resolve the century-long
dispute between proponents of the Abraham and Minkowski forms (see Abraham–Minkowski
controversy).

The Poynting vector represents the particular case of an energy flux vector for electromagnetic
energy. However, any type of energy has its direction of movement in space, as well as its density, so
energy flux vectors can be defined for other types of energy as well, e.g., for mechanical energy. The
Umov–Poynting vector[8] discovered by Nikolay Umov in 1874 describes energy flux in liquid and
elastic media in a completely generalized view.
Interpretation

A DC circuit consisting of a battery (V) and resistor (R), showing the direction of the Poynting vector
(S, blue arrows) in the space surrounding it, along with the fields it is derived from; the electric field
(E, red arrows) and the magnetic field (H, green arrows). In the region around the battery the
Poynting vector is directed outward, indicating power flowing out of the battery into the fields; in the
region around the resistor the vector is directed inward, indicating field power flowing into the
resistor. Across any plane P between the battery and resistor, the Poynting flux is in the direction of
the resistor. The magnitudes (lengths) of the vectors are not shown accurately; only the directions
are significant.

The Poynting vector appears in Poynting's theorem (see that article for the derivation), an energy-
conservation law:

{\displaystyle {\frac {\partial u}{\partial t}}=-\mathbf {\nabla } \cdot \mathbf {S} -\mathbf
{J_{\mathrm {f} }} \cdot \mathbf {E} ,}{\frac {\partial u}{\partial t}}=-\mathbf {\nabla } \cdot \mathbf
{S} -\mathbf {J_{\mathrm {f} }} \cdot \mathbf {E} ,

where Jf is the current density of free charges and u is the electromagnetic energy density for linear,
nondispersive materials, given by

{\displaystyle u={\frac {1}{2}}\!\left(\mathbf {E} \cdot \mathbf {D} +\mathbf {B} \cdot \mathbf {H}
\right)\!,}u={\frac {1}{2}}\!\left(\mathbf {E} \cdot \mathbf {D} +\mathbf {B} \cdot \mathbf {H}
\right)\!,

where

E is the electric field;

D is the electric displacement field;

B is the magnetic field;

H is the magnetic auxiliary field.[9]:258–260

The first term in the right-hand side represents the electromagnetic energy flow into a small volume,
while the second term subtracts the work done by the field on free electrical currents, which thereby
exits from electromagnetic energy as dissipation, heat, etc. In this definition, bound electrical
currents are not included in this term, and instead contribute to S and u.

For linear, nondispersive and isotropic (for simplicity) materials, the constitutive relations can be
written as
{\displaystyle \mathbf {D} =\varepsilon \mathbf {E} ,\quad \mathbf {H} ={\frac {1}{\mu }}\mathbf
{B} ,}\mathbf {D} =\varepsilon \mathbf {E} ,\quad \mathbf {H} ={\frac {1}{\mu }}\mathbf {B} ,

where

ε is the permittivity of the material;

μ is the permeability of the material.[9]:258–260

Here ε and μ are scalar, real-valued constants independent of position, direction, and frequency.

In principle, this limits Poynting's theorem in this form to fields in vacuum and nondispersive linear
materials. A generalization to dispersive materials is possible under certain circumstances at the cost
of additional terms.[9]:262–264

Formulation in terms of microscopic fields

The "microscopic" (differential) version of Maxwell's equations admits only the fundamental fields E
and B, without a built-in model of material media. Only the vacuum permittivity and permeability are
used, and there is no D or H. When this model is used, the Poynting vector is defined as

{\displaystyle \mathbf {S} ={\frac {1}{\mu _{0}}}\mathbf {E} \times \mathbf {B} ,}\mathbf {S} ={\frac
{1}{\mu _{0}}}\mathbf {E} \times \mathbf {B} ,

where

μ0 is the vacuum permeability;

E is the electric field;